Are Swiss Banks Soon Going To Be Allowed To Trade Ethereum, In Israel?

Switzerland is one of Europe’s most pro-crypto countries. Home of Zug, affectionately known as Crypto Valley, Switzerland are spearheading numerous moves to cryptocurrency adoption, and are also fostering a very healthy mining industry too. As Switzerland have their own FIAT currency already, it is likely that the country will be one of the first to adopt cryptocurrency nationwide, something that could in turn spur on the rest of Europe to do the same thing.All eyes are on Switzerland, and there’s good reason for it too. In a new move however, it seems that Swiss banks may be about to start trading Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies in Israel, according to a new report that discusses a recent visit to Israel by Swiss Minister for Finance Ueli Maurer and State Secretary for International Financial Matters, Joerg Gasser.According to CCN, the trip to Israel as materialised in an agreement that will see both countries working together on matters of cryptocurrency, financial technology and blockchain regulation.

“Gasser said he was preparing a report blockchain regulation methods and factors and would be submitting recommendations by the end of the year with the aim that parliament could approve in 2019 and the new regulations could be implemented the following year.”

It also seems that as a result of this, Israeli authorities will be working alongside Swiss authorities to set out regulations for cryptocurrencies in Israel, suggesting that the country is about to take on a similar positive approach to cryptocurrency, something that until now was otherwise uncertain. According to CCN:

“While one could be forgiven for assuming that Swiss regulators are bringing more to the table in their information exchange, Israel is also a major tech hub. It’s the source of most Intel processor chips, and Bitcoin mining rig giant Bitmain has announced that it’s tripling its development center in western Israel to increase ASIC manufacturing. Last year the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even suggested that the era of traditional banks and banking was coming to a close altogether and that cryptocurrency may be the turning point.”

Could we see crypto adoption in Israel? We do believe it will take a while for Israel to become as ‘crypto-positive’ as Switzerland, however with Swiss regulators now working alongside their Israeli counterparts, we can expect that in the future, Israel will too become a hub for the exploration of blockchain technologies and indeed, the adoption of cryptocurrencies too. ReferencesCCN